That was fun in the end. Thanks for joining me. Here is the match report:
I hope the trophy is handed to Flamengo by a stormtrooper.
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Full-time: Flamengo 2-1 River Plate
What a finish! Gabriel Barbosa breaks the hearts of River Plate with two extremely late goals to turn round what looked like a lost cause.
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Red Card! Gabriel Barbosa (Flamengo)
Two goals and a red card for the striker who has irked the referee. What a fun few minutes he’s had.
Red Card! Palacios (River Plate)
Bruno Henrique gets a kicking in the corner from Palacios. It was a tap really, but completely needless. It’s all kicking off.
GOAL! Flamengo 2-1 River Plate (Gabriel Barbosa, 90+2)
He has barely had a sniff all game but has turned the match around in a few dramatic minutes. The ball is lumped down the pitch by Diego and the River defence fail to deal with it, allowing Gabriel Barbosa to take it into the box and whack a shot into the corner.
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90 mins: Four minutes added on.
GOAL! Flamengo 1-1 River Plate (Gabriel Barbosa, 89)
Bruno Henrique does some fine work on the left wing and works the ball into the box to De Arrascaeta, whose cross ends up at the back post with Gabriel Barbosa who taps into an empty net at the far post.
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87 mins: Arao departs and Vitinho enters the stage for the final act.
Tough blow:
Trainspotters Livid About #Libertadores pic.twitter.com/sI85WhTdbQ
— Hispanospherical (@DarrenSpherical) November 23, 2019
85 mins: River break down the right through Montiel. The ball eventually lands at Pratto’s feet and he - once again - whacks a shot from distance but this one is straight at the goalkeeper.
83 mins: Gabriel Barbosa wins a corner for Flamengo odd Pinola. Diego swings it into the box, only to see Armani come 10 yards out of his goal to claim it.
81 mins: Pratto holds up the ball, as a man nicknamed ‘The Bear’ should, but his work is prematurely ended by Rafinha hacking him down for good measure.
Suarez dispossess Filipe Luis in the box and pulls the ball back for the onrushing Palacios but his shot goes well wide.
79 mins: Pratto decides to try and make an impact by whacking a shot from 30 yards out but it flies high and wide.
77 mins: Flamengo work the ball into the box, with Gabriel Barbosa setting up Everton Ribeiro to chip a cross for De Arrascaeta who tries a bicycle kick and it goes nowhere near the net.
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75 mins: River’s second change see goalscorer Borre replaced by Pratto. Gallardo has brought on two strikers so far, a sign of his mentality.
73 mins: Flamengo are looking a bit more lively going forward but there is absolutely not end product currently.
71 mins: River’s 36-year-old captain Pinola has a word with Bruno Henrique who has done some to irk him. The look from the rugged defender was one of “don’t mess with me, sonny.”
Enzo Perez goes into the book for tactically taking down Bruno Henrique when dribbling towards the area.
69 mins: Pablo Mari only gets the ball as far as Fernandez, who chest it down and volleys a shot inches over the bar. What a goal it would have been.
67 mins: Gerson departs and Diego comes on. Yeah, that one from Atletico Madrid and Wolfsburg fame.
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65 mins: Filipe Luis lifts a cross into the box, which Everton Ribeiro tries to get his head onto but only succeeds in flicking it out for a throw-in.
The lads:
A great pleasure to work with @gilbertosilva and @markchapman. pic.twitter.com/kT2zYC32Qe
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) November 23, 2019
63 mins: A cracking foul from Casco who crashes into Rafinha on the halfway line. He is nowhere near the ball and is already on a yellow but the referee feels the free-kick is sufficient.
61 mins: Jonathan Denness emails to say: “On the BBC Jonathan Wilson is described as a “Footall writer”. I think he will be pleased - he knows all foot(b)all.”
He’s been called worse in the office, to be fair.
59 mins: There has been plenty of VAR since all that went on and, in the end, nothing has happened, so the referee hands the ball over to Armani.
57 mins: WHAT A PASSAGE OF PLAY! River have a man down in the Flamengo box, so half-stop playing, allowing the Brazilians to counter and get into the opposition box. Henrique pulls it back from the byline but the first shot is blocked from Gabigol by the back of a flying defender then the second is well saved by Armani. How did they not score?
55 mins: Borre gets a free-kick after Pablo Mari drags him down on the flank. The Spanish centre-back goes into the book for his troubles.
53 mins: Armani once again comes to take a deep cross into the box. Having him behind the back four looks to be giving them an extra level of confidence in a heated situation. Palacios has a dig from 25 yards but curls it just wide.
51 mins: Henrique has a word with the ref after he blows up for a free-kick, which was ultimately a fairly contested aerial challenge.
49 mins: River do not seem to be tiring, they are keeping up their high tempo and limitless aggressive. Montiel proves that River still be business by taking down De Arrascaeta.
47 mins: Gabigol finally gets a sight of goal, picking up the ball 20 yards out and whacking a low drive which is gobbled up by Armani.
The majority of Flamengo’s squad seem to be warming up on the touchline.
Second-half
Here we go again!
Flamengo need to get the ball up to Gabigol, otherwise they will be in for another disappointing 45 minutes.
Half-time: Flamengo 0-1 River Plate
The Argentines have certainly been the better side in the opening 45 minutes. Their intense style and constant pressing has been too much to deal with the Flamengo so far, which is probably why they are yet to create a decent chance.
45 mins: Three minutes added on!
44 mins: Borre is played in down the left flank and latches onto the ball, taking it into the area, he tries to pull it back but the ball is blocked by the goalkeeper. He is a mile offside but the assistant waits ten seconds to put the flag up.
42 mins: Now there is a nasty head clash between Rafinha and De La Cruz, when challenging for the ball on the halfway line. The River man caught the Brazilian full-back on the temple, resulting in both needing treatment.
40 mins: Another foul, this time from Fernandez on Arao, who is shoved from behind for little to no reason.
38 mins: There are two Manchester City legends involved in this game. Flamengo have Pablo Mari at the back - I am not sure he ever visited Manchester in his three years with the club. Meanwhile, Bruno Zuculini is on the River bench - he enjoyed six loan spells during his three years at City.
36 mins: Palacios almost adds a second. He picks the ball up 25 yards from goal and gets it out of his feet before firing a fearsome wide just wide.
34 mins: Gerson takes the ball off De La Cruz and then dribbles 60 yards down the pitch, beating a number of players on the way until tiring near the edge of the area and being dispossessed before he could do anything dangerous.
32 mins: Flamengo send in a couple of crosses into the box but they are dealt with, the second being caught by Armani who looks happy to dominate his own area.
30 mins: We have a booking! Casco is the man to see yellow after clipping Rafinha the wing. It will not be the last caution of the match, thats for sure.
28 mins: This game is lacking in individual moments of quality. River are on top thanks to their tempo making things difficult for Flamengo who cannot cope with the pressing and are getting overrun in midfield.
Here is the goal.
BIG moment in the #CopaLibertadores final!
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 23, 2019
River Plate with the lead!
LIVE: @BBCTwo @BBCiPlayer
👉 https://t.co/YzN8aNNrVU pic.twitter.com/K5Yeja3fvC
26 mins: Stephen Carr (probably not that one) says: “Interesting game insofar as both managers look like magicians on a Cruise liner.”
Who has the better tricks?
24 mins: The referee is sweating profusely and he is unlikely to cool down. De La Cruz commits the latest foul with a very late challenge on Rafinha. It’s hard to keep up with the cynical fouls.
22 mins: Suarez tries to cross the ball for De La Cruz but it hits the River winger’s feet and bounces out of play.
20 mins: Gabriel goes down under minimal pressure and rightly gets nothing for it. The striker lies on the ground for a moment, looking angrily at the referee before getting up. Some of the passing so far has been pretty poor, possibly due to the pitch. To make up for this, the fouling has been relentless.
18 mins: The roar when the goal hit the back of the net was incredible and Borre certainly loved the moment. Gallardo imminent statue can’t be built enough at this rate.
16 mins: How will Flamengo respond? This will suit River’s style, I feel and they will be able to sit back and hit Flamengo on the break.
GOAL! Flamengo 0-1 River Plate (Borre, 14)
River Plate are aided by some dreadful defending inside the Flamengo area. Luis gets in a pickle on the edge and loses possession, the ball then makes it to the byline and is pulled back but all the Flamengo defenders leave it for each other, allowing Borre to nip in and fire into the corner.
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12 mins: If you like fouls, this is the game for you. On the upside, Rodrigo Caio is now playing with tissue up his nose. As an image, it is not up there with Terry Butcher’s bandage around his head.
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10 mins: Flamengo take a short free-kick but it’s a bit rubbish and River counter-attack but it is just about ended by Filipe Luis after he first slipped. The pitch looks pretty dry and slow, which will not help this contest.
8 mins: Rodrigo Caio suffers a bloody nose and takes a bit of time one the sideline to get some tissue bunged up there or something equally comical. On the pitch, Bruno Henrique goes down after a shove in the back 25 yards from goal.
6 mins: The latest person to go down is Rodrigo Caio who has taken a knock to the face. I think we might have a lot of injury time in this one.
4 mins: Flamengo are enjoying the majority of the early possession. Luis almost gets beyond his man and into the box but takes a heavy touch and loses the ball. Amani comes to punch a cross and goes down after colliding with an attacker. It is just a coming together and everyone should stop messing about.
2 mins: The stands are awash with red, white and black. It looks like a cracking atmosphere in Lima. The game has started at a pretty high tempo and there’s been a couple of fouls already and both sets of players look to show they’re up for it.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
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You heard, Baz!
The what now? Disgraceful scenes with not one of these stormtroopers wearing a poppy #copalibertadores pic.twitter.com/1whYKRybbA
— Barry Glendenning (@bglendenning) November 23, 2019
Some stormtroopers have brought out the trophy. What a ludicrous spectacle. I am pretty confused.
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Jonathan Wilson is in the studio, so you’re stuck with me.
Some pre-match reading ...
Starting lineups
Flamengo: Diego Alves, Rafinha, Rodrigo Caio, Pablo Marí, Filipe Luis, Willian Arão, Gerson, Éverton Ribeiro, G. De Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique, Gabriel Barbosa
Subs: Rodinei, Rhodolfo, Rene, Diego, Vitinho, Cesar, Souza, Reinier, Lincoln, Piris, Thuler, Berio
River Plate: Armani; Montiel, Martinez Quarta, Pinola, Casco; Nacho Fernández, Enzo Pérez, Palacios, De La Cruz; Borre, Suárez.
Subs: Bologna, Lux, Rojas, Diaz, Angileri, Zuculini, Ponzio, Ferreira, Quintero, Álvarez, Scocco, Pratto.
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Preamble
Good evening!
Last year’s final will be remembered for the cancellations and the second leg eventually taking place in Madrid, so getting the whole thing done in one night would be a result.
Flamengo’s frontline is led by Gabriel, or Gabigol as he is affectionately known. His early promised resulted in a move to Inter but they sent him quickly on his way to Benfica for a loan spell. After one goal in 10 games in Europe, he was packed off back to Brazil to Santos and now Flamengo where he has enjoyed plenty of success.
River Plate, on the other hand, rely on their manager to make the difference. Marcelo Gallardo is highly thought of in Argentina and could make the move to Europe in the near future, with a Copa Libertadores in his back pocket certainly useful on the CV, so a third tonight would be great. He’s recently been linked with the Barcelona job.
Should be a cracker!
Kick-off is at 8pm (GMT)
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